Play Testing Day May 19, 2008
Posted by Miss Collins in : Games-Based Learning Links, Images , 13commentsToday the Adventure Author team took us through another exclusive piece of software: the evaluation forms. This has been designed within the toolset for designers to have their game tested, evaluated and rated by a friend. We had to change our groups around a bit today, and that was actually really good because in many cases the games were assessed by someone who hadn’t seen any of the development stages at all, and so the game and quest was 100% new to them.
The evaluation forms have sections for the tester to comment on the game’s area, storyline and playability. After this the designer has an opportunity to agree or disagree with what the tester has said.
Once again, everyone in the class was a shining example for Campie and approached this task with a very mature and thoughtful attitude. The Adventure Author team were delighted with how constructive the evaluations were and how positively everyone responded to ways they could improve their game.
When we have more time we will add some examples of the comments and targets that everyone set for themselves. In the meantime, here are some photos of the testing in action:
Testing, testing…. May 19, 2008
Posted by Miss Collins in : Evaluation, Games-Based Learning Links , 3commentsThe moment of truth! The Adventure Author team are with us today and we will be testing each other’s games. The Play Testing will involve evaluating what the terrain is like, the storyline/quest and how enjoyable the game is to play.
All things going well server-wise, we will be posting some comments and new targets for improvements here later today.
Great Groups and Amazing Artwork May 18, 2008
Posted by Miss Collins in : Class work, Games-Based Learning Links, Images, Uncategorized , 5commentsWhat a busy week! So busy I didn’t get a chance to add to this until the weekend!
On Wednesday each group had a short slot of time on the laptops to try and get their game ready for our Play Testing session on Monday 19th. What has been really good to see since we started this project is just how well everyone supports each other and helps those having difficulties. Because we have to work in rotating groups and we try to do so much each day, it is almost impossible for me to spend time with the group on the laptops, so the fact that you have all been helping each other has been vital. Thank you everyone!
As well as working on the game, everyone has been making a start to their World Builder story, and has been working on their prop design. There are some very detailed drawings, especially for sword hilts.
On Friday we had an hour to start actually making the props. It was total mayhem, but already many of the swords, plaques and shields have been created from an assortment of tubes, boxes, food containers and fabrics. Thank you to Mr Thompson the Janitor for helping people spray-paint outside when he was already very busy!
A Very Helpful Visitor May 13, 2008
Posted by Miss Collins in : Games-Based Learning Links , 3commentsFor the past two days we have had a very special visitor, who traveled a very long way to see us!
Katy first visited the school with the Adventure Author team back in April when we first got our hands on the laptops and were shown what Neverwinter Nights 2 was all about. This week Katy came back to see how we were progressing and to get some feedback on how the tool-set can be adapted in the future.
Of course, that is what she thought she was coming to do, but in fact she also spent a lot of time working with the groups on the laptops, helping them to develop their conversations and conditions.
Thank you Katy!
Show Not Tell Part 2 May 13, 2008
Posted by Miss Collins in : Class work , add a commentAfter lunch today we worked in the dining hall on a short drama activity. We were acting as sculptors, creating images of positive and negative emotions. The people of the outside circle decided on an emotion or reaction such as surprise or sadness, and then gave directions to a partner on the inside circle who became a living sculpture of that feeling.
Using our sculptures we discussed what our faces and bodies reveal about how we are feeling. We then created phrases from this that would show the reader how a character is feeling, without simply telling them.
For example, rather than writing “He/She was sad”, our ideas for showing a character was feeling sad were:
- He walked with his head down
- She sat with her hands hidden back in her sleeves
- Tears dripped off of his nose
- The corners of her mouth were turned down
Rather than writing “He/She was really happy”, our ideas for showing a character was feeling happy and a bit surprised were:
- Her eyes were wide
- Her arms flew up in the air
- He started to jump around the room
- He walked in with a massive cheesy grin
Putting Our Ideas on Paper May 13, 2008
Posted by Miss Collins in : Class work , add a commentToday each group worked with me to discuss how they can turn their game quest into a story, and we looked at two different types of planners.
My suggestion is that everyone will write the story of their world and the events that lead up to the start of the player’s quest. Both planners help organise ideas for the opening, the development/turning point, and the ending/cliff-hanger.
- What sort of world was it? How did people live? Who ruled the land? Who are the important characters?
- What changed? What was lost/stolen? Who was overthrown? How did the evil characters arrive? Who now has power? How did life change?
- What must be done to make things better? Who needs to help? What sort of journey might be involved? Who will go?
Working with each of the groups I found that the best place to start was the turning point, or reason for the quest, and then to work backwards to think about how life was before then.
I have already seen some completed planners and they clearly show what detailed and interesting ideas everyone is coming up with. It is so exciting!
These stories are going to be something to be proud of and I can’t wait to get them podcasted and on here for everyone to enjoy! 
Making a Good First Impression May 12, 2008
Posted by Miss Collins in : Class work , 1 comment so farAs we are going to be telling and writing stories set in our game world, we started looking at good ideas for fantasy stories today.
We looked at some opening lines and decided that some had too many ‘real’ names like “Aunty May” or “Sally”, and too many ‘real’ objects such as alarm clocks and…. worst of all… the word ’school’! Better examples started with “Long, long ago…” or “Once upon a time…” However, some said that these were too much like fairy tales and not grown up enough.
We then had a go at listing some good starters for fantasy stories of our own. Here are just a handful of the great examples that people came up with:
-”Once there lived…”, “There was once a land of gold…”, “In a land far away…” “In a castle long ago…” all by Lawrie
-”Curled up in a small ball was a measly wizard no bigger than you or me…” by Laura
-”The mist swirled around the dark tower…”, “Deep underground in a place not known to man, pixies, ogres, wizards, witches and other creatures crept mysteriously around…” by Morgan
-”Sailing in the icy, treacherous, misty sea of Suptle Doom…” by Jamie
-”Before time began…”, “In another world…” by Katherine
-”In the dead of night a cloaked figure ran into the village…”, “At the crack of dawn the Prince ran from the castle…” by Carolyn
We are Target Setters! May 12, 2008
Posted by Miss Collins in : Games-Based Learning Links , 3commentsToday we did a quick recap of what we want to achieve with our World Builder Project. This covered 1) Creating a game, 2) Developing a story and 3) Preparing a presentation:
As you can see we also hope to podcast our stories so we can share our great work on this blog.
Although we haven’t set a date for the presentations, we will be testing and evaluating each others’ games on Monday next week. Because there are just SO many things happening at the moment, that does not leave us much time, so today we set ourselves targets for what we wanted to achieve in the 40 minute game design slots:
A Quiet Week in the World Builder Project May 9, 2008
Posted by Miss Collins in : Class work, Games-Based Learning Links , 1 comment so farAs we were only in Wednesday - Friday and have so many other exciting things like PE, and Art glass design project and Music, we didn’t have nearly enough time for World Building!
However, on Wednesday afternoon each group had 25 minutes to work on their terrain and conversations. Some have forgotten how to go about writing conditions, so we will go over that again together on Monday next week. The tricky part is that you have to start at the end, so you need to plan your dialogue first.
Also on Wednesday we continued reading and completing Literature Circle activities on our Fantasy novels. I’d love to see some mini-reviews on here soon.
For those who had read up to their target chapter and finished their activity, there was also a little time to start work on our props for the game/world presentation. There are some really great ideas for special objects and the designs are looking good. A large pile of cardboard, fabric and tubes is gathering in preparation for making our props for real.
This week’s World Builder Brain Booster May 9, 2008
Posted by Miss Collins in : Class work , 31commentsGood morning! Is it really Friday again already?
When we did this last week it produced such great ideas and was so much fun we just had to do it again! The IT people are doing some work today so if the server goes down we’ll have to add to it over the weekend and on Monday!
This week’s brain booster question is….
IF A WIZARD GRANTED YOU THE POWER TO CAST ONLY ONE SPELL, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
All visitors are welcome to join in!
